Truth
by Kay Skie
Summary: Peeta wakes up one night unable to take the uncertainty of his clouded and confused memories. There's only one person who can help him remember who he is and put an end to his uncertainty. With the help of the other victor, can he remember who he is? Will he be able to uncover the truth? Also, Katniss has questions as well. The summary sucks but hopefully the story will be good.
1. Chapter 1: Questions

**Peeta**

I wake with a jolt. I'm shivering from my own sweat. More nightmares filled with flashbacks and images of The Games and Katniss dying. It's all too much for me to handle by myself. I look at the clock, it's 12:00 AM. My head hurts and I feel dizzy from all the questions I have. I need to talk to someone. Sadly, I live all by myself in the Victor's Village in District 12. There's only two other victors other than me who live here and one victor in particular that I really need to talk to right now. Of course it's far too early to call or walk over there, but that little fact doesn't stop me from throwing on normal clothes, a jacket, my boots and trudging over to her house in the snow.

_What am I doing? _The rational part of me wonders.

I'm not listening to my rational side though, I have too many questions and I can't take dealing with this by myself anymore. I know we haven't spoken in months, but I need to talk to her right now.

I knock on the door and wait. I knock again and wait some more. I'm not sure how long I wait, but by the time the door finally opens, I'm dead tired and the sun has already risen.

Katniss looks surprised to see me sitting on her porch when she opens the door. "Peeta?" She asks.

"Hi. I need to talk to you. It's really important." I say, looking up at her.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in." She says, opening the door.

I stand up and walk unsteadily through the door. Katniss studies me, looking a little concerned.

"Are you feeling all right Peeta? You look sick." She says.

"I'm fine, I just have a lot of questions to ask." I reply.

"Like what?" She asks.

"Like about us. About you, about me, about the Games, stuff that happened before the hijacking." I sound almost as helpless as I feel.

"We can play real or not real if you want." She offers, sitting on the couch. She gestures for me to sit down so I sit on the other side of the couch.

"You were pregnant with our child during the second games. Real or not real?" I ask.

"Not real. You made it up so more people would support me."

"You teamed up with Rue in the first games and tried to kill me with a trackerjacker hive. Real or not real?"

"Real. You and the Careers had me cornered up a tree. It was out of self-defense."

"You kissed me a lot during the first and second games. Real or not real?"

"Real." She looks away from me when she answers.

"Why?" I ask.

"It was an act that I thought you were in on during the first games to gain more support. Then during the second games it was an act on both parts."

"I loved you a lot. Real or not real?"

"Real. I didn't know you really loved me until after the first games though."

Now I'm more confused and that makes my head hurt. I put my head in my hands, it's all too much at once.

"Peeta? Are you okay?" Katniss asks.

I shake my head. I'm not okay. I'm confused. It seems at times that I don't know who I am. This is one of those times.

"I tried to kill you when I was rescued from the Capital. Real or not real?" I ask.

"Real."

I sniffle, feeling tears of guilt gather in my eyes. "Why would I do that?"

"They made you think I was a mutt." she tells me.

"I'm the mutt. Not you." I mumble.

"Not real. You're just confused. They invaded your mind, tore through it, put new stuff in there and left you with only a few real pieces. This isn't your fault Peeta." she tells me.

"That wasn't a question." I say.

"I know, but I thought you should know." she says.

I look at her through teary eyes. "I'm dangerous. Real or not real?" I ask, forcing myself to talk despite the lump in my throat.

"Real, but it isn't your fault." she tells me.

I look down feeling worse."You kissed Gale. Real or not real?"

"Real." she says.

"Why?"

"He kissed me."

"You hate me. Real or not real?"

"Not real."

"Why? I tried to kill you."

"You didn't mean to."

I look away.

"We protect each other. Real or not real?" I ask quietly.

"Real."

I look at her, she looks honest enough.

"When did I start protecting you? Was it during one of the games?" I ask.

"It was during the first games. You almost died because of it." she tells me.

"When did you start protecting me?"

"When it was announced that two people from the same district could win the first games we were in. I screamed your name and started searching for you. Then when I found you, you were lying in mud and plants. You had a bad cut on your left leg from when you and Cato fought, so I found a cave and took care of you in there."

"I remember that." I whisper.

"You do?" She asks, sounding a bit surprised.

"You gave me stuff that was mixed with sleep medicine so you could get me some real medicine. Then I woke up to find you lying in a puddle of your own blood. You nearly died just to save me." I whisper.

"That's what happened." She agrees.

I feel tired, but also a little reassured. At least I can come to Katniss with my questions.

"Are you tired?" Katniss asks.

I nod. I'm exhausted, I've been up since midnight.

"You can stay here and sleep on the couch if you want. That way if you have any questions when you wake up, I'll be here." she offers.

"Thank you." I say, curling up on my side on the couch. My eyes close and I fall asleep immediately.

**Katniss**

Peeta curls up on the couch and falls asleep within seconds. He begins to shiver in his sleep, so I get a blanket and put it over him. Peeta wakes up for a moment and whispers, "Thanks." Then his blue eyes flutter shut again.

"Sweet dreams." I whisper.

I grab a book and start trying to read it, but I can't concentrate. All I can think about is Peeta. I'm constantly wondering how I feel about him. What I feel for him is much deeper than friendship. I might even love him.

_Do I love him?_ I can't help but wonder. _Do I love the boy with the bread? The sweet, kind and tenderhearted boy who I've missed for so long?_

I'm a little scared to know the answer.

* * *

**Well, here's my first Hunger Games fanfiction attempt. How was it? Please be brutally honest. I need to know. Did it suck? Was it okay? Was it remotely decent? **

**Please review! Thanks for reading!**

**~Kay~**


	2. Chapter 2: Another Cave

**Katniss**

Peeta wakes up at around 2PM. He sits up slowly, his blonde hair ruffled from sleep He looks around cautiously, taking in his surroundings, clearly trying to remember where he is.

"Morning." I smile at him.

"What time is it?" Peeta asks.

"It's 2PM. What time did you wake up last night?" I ask.

"Around 12AM." He answers.

"How long were you standing outside my door?" I ask.

"Around eight hours or so." He replies, not looking at me.

I sit by him on the couch. He's shivering and has the blanket up to his chin. I slowly move closer to Peeta and carefully feel his forehead. He looks scared and tenses up as soon as I touch him.

"It's okay. I'm just checking you for a fever." I tell him in a gentle voice, secretly a bit surprised I can be gentle with anyone besides Prim.

He relaxes a little but he still looks at me cautiously. He's burning up. That is not good. I gently stroke his hair out of his face. Then I blink. _What am I doing?_ I wonder.

I remove my hand, my cheeks heating up and say, "You're running a fever. I think it's from staying in the snow last night but, don't worry. I'll take care of you."

"So it will be like the cave. Well, minus the moral peril part. Right?" Peeta smiles.

I laugh, he sounded like before when he said that.

"Are you hungry?" I ask.

"What do you cook?" He asks.

"Soup; do you want some?" I reply.

Peeta nods.

I go to the kitchen and make the soup. Then I sit by him on the couch.

"Can you handle this?" I ask.

"Well, if this is really supposed to be like the cave then you should spoon-feed me." He jokes.

"Glad to hear you have your humor back." I comment.

He laughs and sits up as I pass him the bowl.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"I'm cold." He answers between bites.

I go upstairs to get him another blanket. There's a knock on the door as I'm walking down the stairs. I answer it and see that it's Gale.

"Hey Catnip. Can I come in?" He asks.

"Um." I'm not sure what to say. I haven't seen him since he left and never came back. There's also the thing about him being the child-murderer who created the bombs that killed my sister Prim.

"Listen, I'm sorry for leaving. I was just angry and confused. I just want to tell you that I love you Catnip. I just have to ask, do you love me?" Gale says.

I look at Gale. He's always been my best friend and hunting partner; nothing more, nothing less. Now my feelings have become less than before because of Prim. I've never loved Gale in the way he loves me and I feel bad about it but it's the truth.

"Catnip?" Gale asks.

I glance back at the hallway, thinking about how Peeta's waiting on the couch in the living room. Probably wondering where I am by now.

"You have someone over? Who is it?" Gale asks, trying to come in.

I block the doorway. "It's Peeta and he's sick. He came by this morning wanting to talk so I let him in and then I realized he's sick, so now I'm taking care of him." I tell him.

"Why don't you just take him to the clinic?" Gale demands.

"I can't just leave him there." I answer.

"Why not?" Gale questions, face full of fury.

"Because I-" I finish my sentence in my head. _I love him._ I think.

"Well, I'll just get out of your hair Katniss. I hope you're happy with your life." Gale says, storming away.

I feel bad for Gale but at the same time I'm insanely happy with my realization. I'm also scared of my realization. _I love Peeta._ I think.

I walk over to Peeta and sit by him on the couch, wrapping the new blanket around his shoulders.

"Did you hear?" I ask.

He looks at me with an intense look on his face that tells me he heard everything, even the words that still remain unsaid.

"Can we play real or not real again?" He asks.

"Okay." I reply, mentally bracing myself for the worst.

"You care about me a little bit. Real or not real?" He asks.

"Not real. I care about you a lot." I answer, meeting his gaze.

He looks a little happy but then he changes the subject. "I bake. Real or not real?"

"Real. You're great at baking and decorating cakes."

"The fire that destroyed District Twelve and killed my family was my fault. Real or not real?"

"Not real. That happened during the second games before you were captured. It wasn't your fault."

Peeta looks relieved. "I was worried it was my fault." He admits. "That's what they told me."

"Everything they told you was a lie." I tell him.

"How do I know you aren't lying to me too?" He whispers.

"You're just gonna have to trust me." I say quietly, knowing how much that is to even suggest.

He cautiously meets my gaze. It's gonna be hard to convince him to trust me again but I can tell it's gonna be even harder to remind him how great _he_ is.

"You want to get me back to normal? Real or not real?" He whispers.

"Real. You were happier before." I tell him.

"I can imagine I was less confused then too." He comments.

"You were less confused before." I agree.

"Why are you helping me?" He asks.

"Because I really missed you and you would do the same for me if the roles were reversed." I answer.

**Peeta**

_Did Katniss really just say she missed me?_ I wonder.

"Do you really mean that?" I ask.

"Yes." She says quietly, her cheeks reddening somewhat.

I want to ask why but I'm afraid to.

She surprises me by continuing. "I missed you because you're the kindest and most selfless person I know. You're very strong-willed and you always try to do the right thing and you always know what to say and y-you chase away the nightmares."

I didn't think she thought very highly of me at all. I'm a bit shocked to hear this.

"Do you want some more soup?" She asks, gesturing to the empty bowl.

I shake my head. I'm not very hungry right now. "No thanks. It was really good; I'm just not very hungry." I tell her. "Thank you though."

She takes the bowl and goes into her kitchen. As soon as she's in the kitchen, Gale bursts through the living room window and looks at me, a crazed and furious expression on his face. He pulls me to my feet and starts hitting me. I try to defend myself, but I'm not much of a fighter. The beating reminds me of the time I spent captured in the Capitol. I drop to the ground and curl up in a ball, clutching my head as Gale continues to hit me. I'm trying to ignore the physical pain and focus on remaining in control of myself. It's not working too well.

_This is Katniss's fault!_ A voice in my head screams.

_No it's not!_ I think.

It's no use, my vision is going red and I'm slowly losing control.

**Katniss**

I hear a window break and run into the living room to find Peeta in a small ball while Gale hits him repeatedly.

"Get off him!" I shriek.

Gale ignores me and I run to get my bow from the front door. There's a knock on the door when I retrieve the bow and arrows so I open it. It's Haymitch. I grab his arm, dragging him to the living room. Haymitch catches on real fast and pries Gale off Peeta, shoving him out the front door.

"Peeta?" I call, running to him.

He's on the ground, curled up in a ball. He's hyperventilating and clutching his head.

Haymitch pulls me away from Peeta. "You might not want to get too close sweetheart." He says.

As he says that, Peeta lunges at me, hitting my arm with the bow hard enough to make me drop the bow and arrows, crying out in pain. Then Peeta grabs my injured arm and squeezes, not letting go.

Haymitch yells at Peeta, "Boy let go of her arm!"

Peeta doesn't budge, his blue eyes are nearly completely black.

Tears are streaming down my face. "Peeta, please let go. You're hurting me." I say.

Peeta blinks, looking confused, he looks from his hand to me. Realization dawns on his face and he lets go of my arm immediately. His now blue eyes fill with tears and he jumps away from me. Haymitch grabs his arm so he can't do any other damage.

"Oh Katniss, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry Katniss. I am so, so, very sorry." Peeta says. He begins to cry quietly into his free hand and Haymitch lets go of Peeta's arm.

"It's okay Peeta, you didn't mean it. It's not your fault." I tell him, gently wrapping my arms around him.

"I hurt you. I'm sorry Katniss. I'm so, so, very sorry." He says, crying harder, his legs giving out.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. You didn't mean it. It wasn't you. It was what the Capitol did to you that made you do it. It wasn't your fault." I tell him, having the two of us sit on the couch.

Peeta cries himself to sleep and I carefully put his head in my lap, gently stroking his hair. Haymitch watches us carefully from the other couch.

Peeta wakes up around an hour or so later. When Peeta looks at me he looks like he might start crying again. I gently put my good hand on his bruised cheek. Gale has turned poor Peeta black and blue and caused another flashback. I'm starting to hate Gale now. Peeta looks at me, his eyes full of guilt and my heart aches for him. I wish I could take his pain away. I don't dare let him see my bad arm; that would just make him feel worse.

"Well, now that you're awake, I need to talk to Katniss about something. Okay Peeta?" Haymitch says.

Peeta nods and sits up.

I follow Haymitch to the front door. He looks at me and for once doesn't smell like alcohol. He actually smells like ashes and smoke. "I thought you would want to know that Peeta's house is in ashes." He tells me.

"What?" I gasp.

"I came over because I thought the poor boy tried to end himself, so I ran in there and helped put the fire out. Nobody could find a body but now I think we both know who really did it." He says.

I scowl, yup, we know who did it.

"So now it looks like I might need to stay here so I can watch you two kids." Haymitch tells me.

"That sounds like a good idea." I agree, which is something I never do when it comes to Haymitch and then I hug him, something else I never do with Haymitch. "Thank you for saving Peeta." I whisper.

"I like that kid. I couldn't let him suffer more than he already has." Haymitch says, hugging me back for a moment.

We let go and walk back to Peeta.

"Do you want some more soup?" I ask, sitting beside him again.

Peeta shakes his head and looks at me with sorrow-filled eyes. "I-I really am sorry Katniss." He whispers, looking upset.

"You didn't mean it Peeta. It's okay." I tell him, gently putting my hand on his cheek.

"No, it's not okay. I hurt you. Even though I didn't mean to, I still hurt you." He says, tears spilling out of his blue eyes.

I kiss him, trying to show him that I don't blame him and that I love him in this one kiss. It's a wet kiss, Peeta's crying again, but the kiss is still full of love.

"It's okay Peeta; people forgive those they really love." I tell him, pulling away.

His eyes widen. "You love me. Real or not real?" He whispers in a shaky voice.

"Real." I smile at him.

Peeta smiles at me. "I love you too Katniss." He says, sounding like the old Peeta and I'm glad to see that he's still in there because even though he's damaged and broken, I love him, just like even though I'm damaged and broken, he loves me and that's just the way it is.


End file.
